My Last Blog :( ( Showing USF heath in a cool way!)

Although I've said negative and positive things towards the campus, USF does a pretty good job at showing what a healthy culture life style should be like. Everyone on campus looks healthy, but I'm sure their mental state is a little out sync due to finals. I wanted to leave this blog with a video that shows how USF's health programs are making life better.
  

How to Eat Cheap Healthy Food on a College Budget

Now this has nothing really to do with USF, but I thought this video could help a lot of people like myself. Being active in college culture the thing I notice that I don't have a lot of is money, so when I'm hungry I always try to eat the cheapest thing I can find. Of course it ends up be coming fast food, and then I feel bad for myself not eating healthy. Healthy food is always really expensive, and it is rarely an option. This is a video made by a woman named Whitney Lauritsen, and she has some pretty cool solutions towards eating healthy with a budget.

Caffeine is Bad, but yet there is Starbucks?

Taking research that could be found in Alyssa's blog it turns out that caffeine is not good for you. The one thing that I know is that collage culture survives on caffeine. Usually students that attend collage are always trying to study last minute, and it doesn't it get them no where because students always end up falling asleep. What ends up happening is that caffeine becomes sort of a savior to help students stay up to study. As you can tell from Alyssa's blog "How Much is Too Much: Caffeine" caffeine is a drug, and it comes with side effects. My question is why does the campus have a Starbucks in the library if caffeine is such a bad thing. I am not trying to say that Starbucks is a bad or anything, but I  don't understand why a university that focuses on health would have unhealthy products. The reason I think that it is in the library is because its taking advantage from the people that study there. Everybody studies there, and everybody likes caffeine to study with.

For more info on the effects of caffeine click the link to Alyssa's blog
http://healthandcultures.blogspot.com/2014/11/how-much-is-too-much-caffeine.html?zx=5ee5fffb82dc8462

Choosing the Right Exercise

Cable Exercise

Free Weight Exercise

Aerobic Exercise

Yoga

Choosing the right exercise is important, it can bring out significant results and to prevent injuries. Aforementioned are the four main exercises that can be done in the gym, there are also jogging, basketball, and swimming for cardio exercise. Different sex and race choose different exercises to fit their needs in order to persuade their desire results. 

USF Gym Survey Analysis III

In this part of the survey, I will concentrate on Asian, Hispanic and other races in the gym, the total composition is 40.66% of my data population.

4. In your perspective, what does it mean by healthy?

- Random Person 1
  "Just want to see some result" (Hispanic, male)
- Random Person 2
  "Doing Yoga and sweat" (Asian, female)
- Random Person 3
  "To gain big muscle." （Asian, Male)
- Random Person 4
  "No more fat in my body." (Asian, female)

A brief summary regard to question 4 of my survey, only 60 % of male consider getting big is healthy while the other 40% just want to burn excessive fat or to gain more weight because they are "small". of those 60 %, the ratio for Asian, Hispanic, other respectively is 2:2:1. On the other hand, only 1% of female love to be muscular, while 99% of other females just want to be fit and slim, and the majority of the exercise they did is yoga or aerobic.

5. Do you think that USF gym have enough equipments to meet your desire to be healthy?

80 % of male said yes, 20% said no; 90% of female said yes, 10% said no.

6. Do you use any workout supplement, if so, what is it?

77% of male said yes, of those who said yes, 42% are Hispanic and 40% are others, 18% are Asians. 23% said no, Asian:Hispanic:Other 1:3:3; 92%% of female said no, 8% said yes.

USF Gym Survey Results Analysis II

In this part of the survey, I will concentrate on black and white people in the gym, because together they compose of a total of 60.34% of my data populations.

4. In your perspective, what does it mean by healthy?

- Random Person 1
  "It's to get big man." (black, male)
- Random Person 2
  "Just trying to sweat and burn fat, keep my cardio working." (Prefer not to answer, female)
- Random Person 3
  "My appearance is important and that's what determines health." （White, Male)

Although I can only put so much details into one blog, bur for a brief summary regard to question 4 of my survey, 80 % of male consider getting big is healthy while the other 20% just want to burn excessive fat or to gain more weight because they are "small". On the other hand, only 5% of female love to be muscular, while 95% of other females just want to be fit and slim.

5. Do you think that USF gym have enough equipments to meet your desire to be healthy?

95 % of male said yes, 5% said no; 75% of female said yes, 20% said no, 5% prefer not to answer.

6. Do you use any workout supplement, if so, what is it?

95% of male said yes, of those who said yes, 60% are blacks and 40% are whites. 5% said no, black:white 1:2; 70% of female said no, 30% said yes.

Is getting "big" necessary???

From scientific researches, it was said that most of the bodybuilders are black and white, only with a minority of Asians, Hispanics, etc. Mainly due to their body composition mentioned from the previous post, and their living environment and culture, which led to what we see in the picture. So this is one of the bodybuilder that is going into a bodybuilding competition, is this physical monster healthy at all? The answer is no. To build a body like this requires severe dietary, also with a tremendous amount of steroids shot. Not only are exercises important, but a healthy dietary is require to balance the body workload.

Measures of body composition

Muscle densities are important for physical health, because one can determine whether or not one is suitable for the exercise they are performing, or to choose the right exercise to perform for the best result. The article's research shows the difference body composition between white and black in which majority of the black people are more "dense" than white people, as an asian myself, I do think that we are less "dense" than both white and black which can satisfy a theory that only around 20% of Asians went to gym for free weight lifting.

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/71/6/1392.long

Red Muscle V.S. White Muscle

The Basic Ideas of this article is the comparison between red muscle and white muscle, in which red muscle are long duration and low intensity movement such as long running and walking. On the other hand, white muscle are explosive muscle with higher intensity and was estimate to produce 70% of a human maximum ability. So why are these two muscle worth the discussion, it is because of our diverse world where some certain race contain more white muscle than red muscle, vice versa. This is an important studies for the sport field, and the biological characteristic of each and every different races.


http://www.livestrong.com/article/331534-white-muscle-vs-red-muscle-fitness/

The Lack of Motivational Posters/ Heath Promotion adds on Campus

Example of a Heath Promotion add.

Now most likely if your like me I usually brush off any poster that tries to motivate me to do anything. Mostly because I am lazy, but I never really thought that a poster could be any help in the effect to change peoples perception of heath. Now I actually see how these posters have had an impacted on my life as a student. All through grade school I would see these posters with little funny cartoon characters on them with quotes saying to eat healthy. After I have seen these kind of posters over hundred times in my youth I started to eat more healthy. It was force of habit. After seeing all of these poster on a daily bases it was embedded in my head to eat healthy.
I'm new to USF and I have only been going here for about three months now, and I have not seen many motivational posters on campus. I think it would be a good idea to add some more. Not just to eat healthy, but to also help prepare a student's mental state for finals. It would also be beneficial to add posters with different languages that way all of the different cultures on campus could benefit from it. USF is group in the top 50 university's with the most out of country transfer students.

Cultural Perspectives on Mental Health

After a review of this article, compiled by the Humanitarian Emergencies Certificate Program I now understand just how big of an issue mental health truly is. The article does a superb job covering topics in stigma, discrimination, health, and cultural perspectives of mental illness. Here are some key points I found that were very interesting.

- Mental illness stigma is defined as the “devaluing, disgracing, and disfavoring by the general public     of individuals with mental illnesses”.(1) Stigma often leads to discrimination, or the inequitable             treatment of individuals and the denial of the “rights and responsibilities that accompany full                 citizenship". (Abdullah, T., Brown, T.L. (2011). Mental illness stigma and ethnocultural beliefs,             values, and norms: an integrative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 31: 934-948.)

- Stigmatization can cause individual discrimination, which occurs when a stigmatized person is           directly denied a resource (e.g. access to housing or a job), and structural discrimination, which         describes disadvantages stigmatized people experience at the economic, social, legal, and                 institutional levels. (Ibid.)

- Attitudes toward mental illness vary among individuals, families, ethnicities, cultures, and countries.   Cultural and religious teachings often influence beliefs about the origins and nature of mental illness,   and shape attitudes towards the mentally ill. In addition to influencing whether mentally ill individuals   experience social stigma, beliefs about mental illness can affect patients’ readiness and willingness   to seek and adhere to treatment. (Nieuwsma, J.A., Pepper, C.M., Maack, D.J., Birgenheir, D.G.  (2011). Indigenous perspectives on depression in rural regions of India and the United  States.Transcultural Psychiatry, 48(5): 539-568.)

- A review of ethnocultural beliefs and mental illness stigma by Abdullah et al. (2011) highlights the       wide range of cultural beliefs surrounding mental health. For instance, while some American Indian     tribes do not stigmatize mental illness, others stigmatize only some mental illnesses, and other           tribes stigmatize all mental illnesses. In Asia, where many cultures value “conformity to norms,           emotional self-control, [and] family recognition through achievement”, mental illnesses are often         stigmatized and seen as a source of shame. (Abdullah, T., Brown, T.L. (2011). Mental illness             stigma and ethnocultural beliefs, values, and norms: an integrative review. Clinical Psychology           Review, 31: 934-948.)

The article provided many more key points as well as research and experiments that were conducted. I have provided the link so if anyone would like to read more in depth on this subject, it is as follows:

http://www.uniteforsight.org/mental-health/module7

Mental Health 2013: An Important Public Health Issue

In continuing my research, I was curious as to how mental health affects people globally. I have listed a few facts that I found were quite interesting. More information can be found at the link provided.

Worldwide Facts and Statistics

- Globally, 1 in 4 (25%), suffer from mental disorders in both developed and developing countries. Four of      the six leading causes of years lived with disability are depression, alcohol use disorders, schizophrenia,          and bipolar disorder. (World Health Organization (WHO), 2013)
- Worldwide, someone commits suicide every 40 seconds. About 1 million die by suicide every year.              (WHO, 2012)
- Mental health problems are more common than cancer and heart disease combined. (Substance Abuse and   Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA))

National Facts and Statistics

- 81.6 million Americans (26.2% or 1 in 4) experience some form of mental disorder each year. 46.4% will
  experience a mental illness in their lifetime. (U.S. population of 311.5 million in 2011, National Household     Survey of Drug Abuse, 2006)
- More than 50% of adults and 70% of children and adolescents are not receiving any treatment for their         mental illness. (SAMHSA 2012, University of Maryland, 2012).
- Most suicides occur among the elderly, those aged 60 and above. (NIMH, 2012)
- Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in youth aged 10 to 24. More teenagers and young adults die         from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and            chronic lung disease combined. (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), 2010)
- In 90% of suicides for both children and adults, mental illness is the attributing cause. (NIMH, 2012)

http://www.namigc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/MentalIllnessFactSheet-July-2013.pdf

Trying to Make A's with a Busy Work Schedule

Many of us know what its like trying to balance a schedule between working and school. Its no walk in the park that's for sure! I myself work full-time(40 hrs/wk +overtime) and go to school part-time, and let me tell you, it is definitely not fun. I have never felt so physically and mentally drained before in my life, although I tried to prepare myself as best I could. Staying up late after a 8 hours of work because you have to study or scramble to complete that assignment that's due in morning when your eyes can barely remain open. Yep, that is me. People ask, "If it's that hard, why don't you just quit working for a few years and focus on your education?" To which I reply, "I like making my own money to get the things I need and want. Being able to work and provide for myself while going to school gives me a higher sense of accomplishment." There are numerous sacrifices you have to make along the way but in the end if it helps to achieve your goals, that's all that matters. I always remind myself its about commitment and discipline.

FSU Shooting

Last week we heard of the devastating shooting that occurred at FSU. The attack left three students injured by gunshot wounds and the shooter dead after a brief exchange of gunfire between both Florida State and Tallahassee law enforcement who responded to the scene. The shooter, identified as Myron May, was a 2005 graduate of FSU. After going on to graduate from Texas Tech University's law school in 2009, May moved back into the area only a few weeks ago and seemed to be "troubled." Investigators continue to survey the area and conduct interviews with witnesses, trying their best to make sense of this madness. It appears May did not target the victims involved, his motive is still unclear at this point. The school canceled classes Thursday in the wake of the shooting, and offered counseling services to those directly and indirectly involved. "Mr. May had a written journal and videos where he expressed fears of being targeted and that he wanted to bring attention to this issue of targeting," Tallahassee Police Chief Micheal DeLeo told reporters. The investigation remains ongoing while students and the FSU community remain strong and continue to pray for full-recovery for the victims involved.

Perhaps we will never know the true reasoning behind Mr. May's actions on that day but my guess is his mental state was way off the charts. What would cause a person to want to do harm on innocent people if they weren't crazy? This man was suffering from delusional thoughts, mental breakdowns, schizoprenia, and who knows what else. There is no doubt he was battling with mental illness. Its a tragedy he did not seek help and counseling before deciding the solution to all his problems was to take it out on others but as we now see, his own life was forfeited as a result.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/20/us/fsu-incident/index.html 

Health Concerns: More than Diet and Exercise

The most interesting as well as concerning trend I noticed in my survey about health among USF students was that people were only concerned with diet and exercise.  While these things are important, there is so much more to being healthy.  Students didn't mention anything about sexual health, mental health, drugs and alcohol, preventing illness, avoiding stress, etc.  These are all very important factors in maintaining a healthy, and happy lifestyle.  Here is a really good website that includes information on everything from balancing your plate and exercising with friends, to wearing sunscreen and getting tested for STDs.  I would suggest that USF take some of these tips into account when they are making posters of packets about health for USF students.

Health Tips for College Students
How Going to College Affects Your Health

How Much is Too Much: Caffeine

As I gathered from my survey, it doesn't seem like USF students have a very comprehensive idea of health and are mostly concerned with diet and exercise.  But there is one drug that most students put into their bodies every single day without giving it a second thought: caffeine.  I know I take a lot of caffeine throughout the weekdays.  With 18 credit hours of classes this semester and a Monday-Friday job, how could I go a day without it?
Amount of caffeine I consume on an average weekday:
     - 1/2 caffeine pill = 100mg
     - 1 Jamba Juice smoothie with a "3G Charger" = 120mg
     - 1 energy drink =  180mg
     - 1 cup of tea = 40mg
Total = 440mg

What does this much caffeine do to your body?

•  Make you jittery and shaky
• Make it hard to fall asleep, stay asleep, or get a good night's sleep
• Make your heart beat faster
• Cause an uneven heart rythm
• Raise your blood pressure
• Cause headaches, nervousness, and/or dizziness
• Make you dehydrated, especially after a workout, or with caffeine pills
• Make you dependent on it so you need more of it

And what happens if you try to stop taking caffeine?

Symptoms of withdrawal from caffeine include:

• headache
• fatigue
• anxiety
• irritability
• depressed mood
• difficulty concentrating

Symptoms of caffeine overdose in adults may include:

• Breathing trouble
• Changes in alertness
• Confusion
• Convulsions
• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Fever
• Hallucinations
• Increased thirst
• Increased urination
• Irregular heartbeat
• Muscle twitching
• Rapid heartbeat
• Sleeping trouble
• Vomiting

You can also overdose on caffeine if you consume too much of it, and possibly die.  This is not something many students have in their minds when they consume caffeine throughout the day and between classes to stay awake and alert. I think it would be a good idea for the university to circulate information about  potential risks of caffeine and the recommended doses, as well as alternative, more healthy sources of energy and ways to be more well rested; such as apples, regular exercise, not using electronics 30 minutes before bed, not consuming caffeine less than 6 hours before bed, etc.

FDA on Caffeine
Caffeine Facts
Caffeine Overdose

Nutritional Food For The Top Nine Healthiest Cultures

Greeks

Traditional Greek foods like dark leafy veggies, fresh fruit, high-fiber beans,  grains, olive oil, and omega-3-rich fish deliver lots of immune-boosting and cancer-fighting ingredients that cut your risks of heart disease and diabetes.

California fresh

California Fresh is a style of eating that is about enjoying seasonal, local foods that are simply prepared.  They eat plenty of naturally low-calorie, nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables from a local farmers' market or farm.

Vietnamese

Fresh herbs, lots of vegetables and seafood, and cooking techniques that use water or broth instead of oils are common in Vietnamese meals.

Japanese

Japanese foods that are amazing for your health include antioxidant-rich yams and green tea;  calcium-rich veggies like bok choy; iodine-rich seaweed (good for your thyroid); omega-3-rich seafood; shiitake mushrooms (a source of iron, potassium, zinc, copper, and folate); and whole-soy foods.

Indian

 Curry is a popular Indian dish.  Aromatic spices, such as turmeric, ginger, red chilies, and garam masala are used in India.  Turmeric and ginger help fight Alzheimer's, according to recent studies.

Italian

Ingredients such as tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, oregano, parsley, and basil make Italian dishes healthy. 

Garlic and traditional Italian herbs provide vitamins A and C.

Spanish

The Spanish eat tons of fresh seafood, vegetables, and olive oil.  Two examples of popular healthy Spanish dishes are Gazpacho and paella (a dish of seafood, rice, and vegies). 

South American

The continent's traditional diet of fresh fruits and vegetables (including legumes) along with high-protein grains like quinoa are very healthy.  A typical South American meal of rice and beans creates a perfect protein.  Ceviche is a blind of fresh seafood that has a variety of healthful spices and ingredients, from cilantro and chile peppers to tomatoes and onions.

, and vegies). 

Corapi, Annie, and Copyright 2011. CNN. August 25, 2010. Accessed November 23, 2014. http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/08/25/healthiest.ethnic.cuisines/.

USF Pet Therapy

Wow!! I hope this happens again this year or sometime soon. Although I don't own any pets, I've always had a love for animals. In fact, after graduating high school I pondered the idea of maybe becoming a wild-life ranger or ecologist. This video goes to show that we don't always have to seek human advice and guidance in times of stress and anxiety.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=halX3s_wdVg

How Culture Effects Food Choices at USF

I have notices while walking around campus that there are a lot of places to eat. I was wondering if this variety of restaurants were picked pacifically for all of the different cultures that attended USF. The more I thought about the more it made sense. The one restaurant chain that could be found all over the world is Subway, there are even more Subways then there are MacDonalds.  
So with all of these student attending USF from all over the world there’re are probably used to eating at Subway , so of course the campus has two Subways. Although Subway is a western made fast food chain it has becomes a norm for other cultures to. When the new students attend they are most likely going to eat at Subway because that what their used to back home. Its the same with the Pollo Tropical restaurant. I think the reason that it there is because Florida has such a huge Spanish community. So its a great thing that USF has all of these different restaurants that way it pleases most cultures there by giving them comfort of what their used to eating. 

What USF Recommends to Relieve Stress

You don't have to be a slave to stress. Here's what to do.

• Communicate! Share your feelings with others who can provide emotional support.
• Be physically active and eat right! Exercise can help you develop and maintain a healthy mind, body, and spirit, while a healthy diet can give you necessary nutrition and energy.
• Sleep (at least seven hours) is essential to health, well-being and effectiveness.
• Learn and use basic time management skills to maintain a healthy life balance (between work and play).
• Practice relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, meditation, yoga, listening to music, or reading something enjoyable.
• Participate in a hobby or other interest, apart from your academic work.
• Avoid strategies that are counterproductive, such as tobacco, alcohol or other drugs, or binge eating, which can lead to other problems and more stress later.
• Talk with someone in the Counseling Center or other professional.

Great recommendations in my opinion!!

USF Wellness Education

Here at USF there are more than a handful of combined programs, clubs, activities, and counseling aimed at helping students become more active, happy, and stress-free apart from academic work. Here are some great places to visit if ever you just need a little time to yourself away from all the stress and just to relax:

1. Campus Recreation Center
               
          Office Hours:
                    Mon - Thur: 9 AM - 5:30 PM
                    Fri: 9 AM - 5 PM
          Contact Info: 813-974-7084

http://usfweb2.usf.edu/CampusRec/Membership/index.html

2. Counseling Center

          Office Hours:
                     Mon - Fri: 8 AM - 5 PM
          Contact Info: 813-974-2831

http://www.usf.edu/student-affairs/counseling-center/about-us/index.aspx

3. Student Health Services

          Office Hours:
                   Fall & Spring Semesters: 8:00am - 5:30pm
                   Summer Semester: 8:00am - 4:30pm
                   Break Weeks: 8:00am-4:30pm
         Contact Info: 813-974-2331

http://www.usf.edu/student-affairs/student-health-services/about-us/index.aspx

4. Students of Concern Assistance Team (SOCAT)

         JJ Larson
         Student Affairs Case Manager
         Office: SVC 2124
         813-974-6130

http://studentsofconcern.usf.edu/default.htm

Survey Questions for Mental Health

Since so many factors can affect a person's mental health, I decided for the purpose of this project I would focus my research on one particular aspect of what influences, whether good or bad, affects a student's academic progress. In doing so, I've created some questions that I will use to interview a small group of participants to obtain a generalized idea of what these influences may be. A sample of those questions are as follows:

1. Student status (Freshmen, Sophmore, Junior, Senior)
2. Major
3. Number of credit hours in current semester
4. Occupation (part-time, full-time, work-study, non-employed)
5. Number of hours per week working
6. Number of hours spent on studying
7. Is there a particular place where you find it best to study?
8. Do you prefer to study alone or with friends?
9. Are you involved in any extracurricular activities (i.e. sports, clubs, organizations...)?
10. Would you say you have pretty well-balanced schedule between school work and other daily activities?/

Survey Analysis and Questions

Obviously I received a wide variety of answers in my surveying, showing diverse ideas of health in USF’s even more diverse population.

Some questions arose after I collected the results from my survey that may be interesting to think about:

• Why don’t more students use USF’s gym?
• Why doesn’t USF provide comprehensive nutritional information of the food served in the dining halls since that seems it would be the best way to help students make healthy decisions in the cafeterias? 
•  Why do students only think about nutrition and exercise when it comes to health?
• Should USF be doing more to promote concepts of mental health like getting enough sleep, keeping stress levels low, not consuming too much caffeine, or concepts of sexual health like proper use of protection, and risks of STIs, or about substance abuse, alcohol poisoning, etc?

Survey Results

Out of 83 survey participants there were:

54 domestic students, 26 international students, and 3 non-students

36 were male, 39 were female, and 8 preferred not to answer

While 4 students associated health simply with not being sick, most participants felt that being healthy meant to eat a well-balanced diet and get some sort of exercise on a regular basis

26 students do not consider themselves healthy, 48 considered themselves healthy, and nine said maybe or unsure

22 students said they use the university gym, 9 said they ride their bike around campus, 61 said they try to eat healthy when they can, and 14 students said they don’t make an effort to be healthy

16 said that USF provides plenty of healthy options and does a perfect job, 12 said that they should provide more vegetarian options, 64 said they should do a better job of providing nutritional information about the food served in the dining halls and have more low-calorie options, 4 simply answered “No”

26 suggested more healthy options in the Marshall Center food court, 23 suggested more varied options at the salad bars in the dining halls, 4 suggested more vegan foods, 18 answered no suggested or “not really”, 51 said to display nutritional information around the food options

Does USF's Fresh Food Company offer low calorie meals?

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 estimates that the average moderately active man needs 2,200 to 2,800 calories each day to maintain a healthy body weight.  According to livestrong.com and USA Today journalist Nina Hauptman, the average woman 19-26 years old needs about 2,200 calories per day.  For a person needing 2300 calories, this averages to 767 calories per meal.  USF’s Fresh Foods offers little variety for this meal plan.

The grill’s BBQ beef and cheddar melt contains 398 calories.  Fresh foods most caloric item is the Honey lemon BBQ rotisserie chicken (695 calories).  Not far behind is the chipotle orange rotisserie chicken (653 calories).  One side that contains 303 calories is the southwest sweet potato. 

The Comfort zone only offers a few healthy sides like diced fresh tomatoes, broccoli (19 calories), sautéed zucchini and tomatoes (40 calories). They offer entrees like roasted turkey (90 calories), baked chipotle- orange chicken (192 calories), and home style fish fillet (254 calories) once a week.  Some of the unhealthy options they provide are the Cheeseburger pie (603 calories) and the beef and fire salsa burrito (448 calories).

Some healthy sides are found in the American zone.  The American zone provides steamed yellow squash (17 calories), vegetables, spinach (67 calories), and charro beans for lunch.  These are generally considered healthy foods but the American zone only offers two of these sides a day for lunch.

As for the Deli and side salads area, they offer the mini tuna salad sandwich (175 calories) but they pair it up with their signature chips.  They have mequite, ancho, and Cajun potato chips all containing 300+ calories each.  Their honey Dijon chicken wrap totals up to 466 calories.

The average food station at fresh foods only serves about 3 different entrees a day.  They have nutritional options such as the roasted turkey or the tuna salad sandwich but their lack of variety tempts students to choose unhealthy items such as the honey lemon BBQ rotisserie chicken.

Does USF offer a chance to eat healthy?

USF STUDENT SURVEY ON HEALTHY FOOD

 This is a survey I conducted at the USF Library. These 20 students consented to the use of this survey in my blog.

USF's food options does appeal to a large variety of cultures but they do not provide many healthy options.  Most students consider fast food to be unhealthy, which USF offers a lot of. 10% of the participants don't eat at USF because of the lack of variety in healthy food. 55% of the participants feel that USF doesn't offer a good chance to be healthy. The participants favored Subway the most followed by Pollo Tropical.  There are healthy options,  just not enough.

3.5

How Popular In The World Are The Restaurants At USF?

The Origin and Popularity of Some Restaurants at USF

Pollo Tropical

In 1988 Brothers Larry and Stuart Harris open first Pollo Tropical in Miami at 741 NW 37th Avenue.   Since then they have expanded to countries and islands such as Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Ecuador, and Puerto Rico.

Chick Fil A

The first store opened up in Georgia, 1946.  As of April 2012, there are 1,614 Chick-fil-A in 38 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.  Chick Fil A has largely appealed to the Southern states in the U.S. although they have announced plans to expand in the West, Mid-West, and North East in 2015 and 2016.

Subway

Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck opened up their first subway in 1968.

At the end of 2010, Subway became the largest fast food chain worldwide, with 33,749 restaurants – 1,012 more than McDonald's.  There are thousands of subways throughout 107 Countries and territories.  There are 395 Subway restaurants in 68 cities of India as of January 2013.  Subway is the fastest expanding food company in the world.

Panda Express

The first one opened up in Hesperia, California.  It’s the largest American Chinese restaurant in the United States.  They have just fewer than 1700 restaurants located in 47 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

Moe’s

Moes’s franchise hasn't been around long.  They have about 550 restaurants in operation in 35 states.  In the year 2000 the first Moe’s opened up as a Southwest grill. 

These are just a few of the restaurants the Tampa Campus of The University of South Florida offers.  They provide a wide range of meals from Asian to Southern American dishes.  The University has made an attempt to appeal to all cultures with having two Subways because Subway is the most popular fast food restaurant in the world.  USF has chosen to have the two Subways in the most popular locations on campus because it is one of the healthier restaurants, offering whole grain sandwiches with plenty of vegetables to choose from.